A prominent lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was arrested in connection to his son’s fraternity brother drug trafficking scandal at Penn State.
Paul Robinson, an attorney who works at Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebeneck & Eck, was charged after he allegedly helped hide evidence from an alleged multi-state cocaine-trafficking ring that was run by the Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternities at Penn State.
The drug ring was allegedly run by his son, Thomas Robinson, and other current and former members of the fraternities.
A total of 14 people have been charged, while authorities said that Thomas, 23, and Agostino Abbatiello are the alleged ringleaders of the operation.
State prosecutors said that Paul has been charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension for taking steps to conceal evidence in the case, including a safe stuffed with cash and drugs, and obstructing the investigation.
Paul previously earned a bachelor’s degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania before he got his law degree from New England School of Law in 1992. During his time as an undergrad, he served as a treasurer for Delta Sigma Phi, according to his LinkedIn profile. He later became a member of Phi Alpha Delta while in law school.
He specializes in transportation, commercial, construction and insurance law. At the time of his arrest, Paul worked as a managing attorney at Meyer Darragh based in Pittsburgh.
The law firm addressed the charges filed against Paul in a statement to The New York Post. “The allegations concern Mr Robinson individually and do not involve the Firm, its clients, or the legal services provided by the Firm,” the statement read. “The Firm is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the matter.”
Penn State announced on Monday, August 17, that Delta Upsilon had been placed on interim suspension as an investigation into the alleged drug ring continues, according to the report. Sigma Chi has remained unchanged because the group operates outside of the university’s oversight.
Prosecutors said that Thomas, who is a Delta Upsilon brother, and Abbatiello, a Sigma Chi frat brother, are responsible for leading the drug-trading enterprise.
Both Thomas and Abbatiello, 24, graduated from Penn State in 2024, though they allegedly continued to organize regular trips to suppliers in New York and Philadelphia in order to get drugs back to campus after they graduated. They have even been accused of using frat pledges to package the cocaine.
“We are horrified by these serious allegations against current and former students,” Andrea Dowhower, vice president for Student Affairs at the college, said following the arrests, per the New York Post. “Criminal activity, including hazing, such as this has no place at our institution, and we will cooperate with law enforcement in any way we can. We will continue to enhance our efforts around health and safety and hazing educational efforts for all our organizations.”
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the charges in a press release shared on Tuesday, August 18, in which he said they made arrests in connection to “a coordinated and highly-profitable drug-trafficking crew” that involved frat brothers and their families.
Abbatiello surrendered on the morning of August 18 and was arraigned, according to the attorney general.
“We are pleased to report that the most significant members of this cocaine-trafficking organization are accounted for, and will have their fair process in court,” Sunday said in the press release. “These are very serious charges and the next steps will be preliminary hearings.”
It is not currently clear if Paul, Thomas or Abbatiello have entered pleas following their arrests.
